The Constitutional Council has validated the authorization of surveillance by police drones, as provided for by the latest internal security law.
The Council of State, the Constitutional Council and the Cnil have all banned the use of police drones for surveillance purposes, particularly in the context of demonstrations. Not all drones have been shelved, however, as law enforcement has continued to use them illegally for two years in certain circumstances. Things had to come back into a legal framework with the law “Criminal Accountability and Homeland Security”, adopted on November 18, 2021. But the Constitutional Council, seized, still had to decide on certain elements, including the use of these drones.
Its verdict is in: police drones will once again be authorized for mass surveillance, whether during risky gatherings or to secure sensitive places and buildings. Same for the video surveillance of police custody cells and for the use of on-board cameras on police vehicles. The rather wide scope of application and the lack of proportionality criticized by the opponents of this measure are not arguments retained by the sages.
Note that a prefect can now, alone, authorize the use of surveillance drones, without the prior intervention of a judge. Authorizations, for their part, will have to be checked after the fact by the administrative courts. The only limits set: these drones should not be authorized to perform facial recognition, and the municipal police will not be able to experiment with it.
A bitter defeat for La Quadrature du Net
La Quadrature du Net, which has been fighting successfully for two years against the widespread use of drones, has just lost an important battle. “Today is a national struggle that has been lost. It will therefore be necessary to return to the local level to document and challenge in court the necessity and information of each drone. Needless to say, this fight will require considerable energy and constant attention. The action of La Quadrature alone will clearly not be sufficient”, regrets the organization.